Councillors and committees

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell, KT17 1UF

Contact: Nicola Morris, Community Partnership & Committee Officer  Surrey County Council, Community Partnership Team, Epsom Town Hall (2nd floor), Epsom, KT18 5BY

Items
No. Item

1/16

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    To receive any apologies for absence and notices of substitutions from Borough members under Standing Order 39.

    Minutes:

    Apologies for absence were received from Tina Mountain.

2/16

CHAIRMAN'S BUSINESS

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    The Chairman will update the Committee on any current issues.

    Minutes:

    The Chairman reported that he had approved two further bids from the Community Safety Fund.  Firstly £750 towards the cost of providing training for education staff on Child Sexual Exploitation, and secondly £787 to install keypads to secure gates on the Longmead Estate as a crime safety measure.

     

    The Chairman and Vice Chairman had met with officers to discuss over £1 million of SCC held Section 106 and PIC money that is designated to be spent in Epsom and Ewell.  This is an important step forward in ensuring that these sums are fully used for the purpose described and with Member input.

     

    At the SCC Budget Meeting on 9th February the reduction of 25% in this year’s Local Highway revenue funding was confirmed.  This will make a difference to officers’ ability to respond to all the pressures and requests that come their way.  Member Allocations have not been reduced this year and remain at £10,296.

     

    The Local Highway Maintenance Engineer, Jefferson Nwokeoma has moved to a new job and a replacement will not be in place for 2 or 3 months.  Members of the Local Committee have been told the best way to report highway maintenance issues in the interim and County Members have been advised to notify Nick Healey of schemes or priorities for 2016/2017 previously agreed.

3/16

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS

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    To answer any questions or receive a statement from any member of the public who lives, works or studies in the Surrey County Council area in accordance with Standing Order 69.  Notice should be given in writing or by e-mail to the Community Partnership & Committee Officer at least by noon four working days before the meeting.

    Minutes:

    5 questions were received.  The questions and answers are set out in Annex A.  The following additional points were made:

     

    Question 1:  Cllr Steer indicated that she was still unhappy with the progress made and requested that representatives from the County and Borough Councils and the Environment Agency meet on site to decide what action can be taken.  This would be investigated and a response sent to Cllr Steer together with an update on current progress.

     

    Question 2:  Cllr Partridge reported that residents feel that on average there is only 8 or 9 seconds of green time in the peak hours and not the 16 seconds suggested by TfL.  Highway officers agreed to give Cllr Partridge details of the contact at TfL so that he can discuss the issue with them direct.  The Committee asked the Chairman to write on behalf of the Committee in support of the residents.

     

    Question 5:  On behalf of Teresa Cass, Cllr Liz Frost asked whether it would be possible to see the speed data collected by Surrey Police.  It was agreed that the contact details for the appropriate officer at Surrey Police would be sent to Teresa Cass so that she could contact them direct.

Annex A pdf icon PDF 148 KB

4/16

ADJOURNMENT

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    For the Committee to consider adjourning for up to half an hour to receive questions from members of the public.

    Minutes:

    23 members of the public were present.  Seven informal questions were asked and answers were provided at the meeting.

5/16

PETITIONS pdf icon PDF 107 KB

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    To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 68.

     

    A petition signed by 143 individuals has been submitted to the Local Committee to improve road safety in Cuddington Avenue, Worcester Park.

    Minutes:

    One petition was received.

     

    Declarations of Interest:  None.

     

    Officers attending:  Nick Healey, Area Highways Team Manager

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  Several residents of the area were present at the meeting and outlined the dangers and incidents they had witnessed whilst taking their children to school and expressing their concern that a serious incident could happen at any time.  It was suggested that the installation of yellow lines in Cuddington Avenue had led to an increase in the speed of traffic in the road and the reintroduction of some parking bays was suggested.  One resident had contacted the County Council to offer her services as a school crossing patrol but had not received a reply.

     

    The Chairman responded that he had attended the recent site visit to the area with officers and that a full report on the assessment and any proposed actions would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee in June.  The County Council had agreed that a school crossing patrol could be employed, but that the cost of this would need to be met by the schools as it is not considered a priority site. 

     

    Member Discussion – key points

     

    Noted the progress made so far in responding to the petition and that a full report will be made to the 20 June meeting of the Committee

6/16

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 199 KB

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    To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

    Minutes:

    The minutes were confirmed as a correct record.

7/16

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

    To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

     

    Notes:

    ·        In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest.

     

    ·        Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

     

    ·        Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register.

     

    ·        Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

     

    Minutes:

    Cllr Liz Frost indicated that she had a non pecuniary interest in Item 10 as a trustee of the Millennium Green which is adjacent to the proposed zebra crossing in Woodcote Green Road.

8/16

MEMBER QUESTION TIME

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    To receive any written questions from Members under Standing Order 47.   Notice should be given in writing to the Community Partnership & Committee officer by 12.00 noon four working days before the meeting.

    Minutes:

    One question was received, the question and answer is set out in Annex B.

Annex B pdf icon PDF 62 KB

9/16

Request for Funds for On Street Parking Enforcement equipment [EXECUTIVE FUNCTION - FOR DECISION] pdf icon PDF 85 KB

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    A request that Local Committee funding received from on-street parking enforcement be used to partly fund:

     

    a)     Purchasing, maintenance and support for upgraded Handheld devices

    b)     The purchase of, insurance, equipment and maintenance for a moped to be used by a civil enforcement officer to assist with on-street parking contraventions

     

    Additional documents:

    Decision:

    That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed that:

     

    £14,196 of the Local Committee’s share of the surplus on the on-street parking account, be released to the on-street account of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) to contribute towards the cost of:

    (i)     10 TC55 Handheld devices to be used by Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO’s) in on-street parking enforcement

    (ii)    a moped to be used by a CEO to enable them to attend parking concern locations in a more timely manner along with maintenance, insurance, equipment and uniform for a CEO to use a moped in a safe manner, subject to a business case review by officers.

    Reasons: 

     

    The handheld equipment currently used has not been updated for many years. The new stock are more durable, enable real-time data to be transferred to and from the office, have a better battery life and GPS capabilities.

     

    Investing in a moped will allow a CEO to attend ticketing and patrol requests more quickly, and assists with on-street enforcement across the borough particularly in peak times or if there is heavy traffic on the road.

    The 2014/15 Local Committee surplus was £34,196. £10,000 of this has been allocated to Surrey County Council for the Parking Review 2015/2016. A similar amount is to be assigned for the next Parking Review for 2016/17. This bid is for the remaining funds of £14,196.

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None.

     

    Officers attending:  Joy Stevens, EEBC Head of Customer Service; Richard Chevalier,  EEBC Parking Manager

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  None

     

    Member Discussion – key points

     

    Members queried whether the mobile coverage was good enough in some areas of the Borough to enable the hand held devices to work.  Officers responded that if the area is not suitable for data transfer then the information can be held on the devices for download later.

     

    Members welcomed the possibility of the purchase of a scooter and asked whether this would mean that the van and car currently used could be sold.  Officers replied that this could be considered when the effectiveness of the scooter has been assessed.

     

    Resolved:  that £14,196 of the Local Committee’s share of the surplus on the on-street parking account, be released to the on-street account of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) to contribute towards the cost of:

    (i)     10 TC55 Handheld devices to be used by Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO’s) in on-street parking enforcement

    (ii)    a moped to be used by a CEO to enable them to attend parking concern locations in a more timely manner along with maintenance, insurance, equipment and uniform for a CEO to use a moped in a safe manner, subject to a business case review by officers.

    Reasons: 

     

    The handheld equipment currently used has not been updated for many years. The new stock are more durable, enable real-time data to be transferred to and from the office, have a better battery life and GPS capabilities.

     

    Investing in a moped will allow a CEO to attend ticketing and patrol requests more quickly, and assists with on-street enforcement across the borough particularly in peak times or if there is heavy traffic on the road.

    The 2014/15 Local Committee surplus was £34,196. £10,000 of this has been allocated to Surrey County Council for the Parking Review 2015/2016. A similar amount is to be assigned for the next Parking Review for 2016/17. This bid is for the remaining funds of £14,196.

10/16

HIGHWAYS UPDATE [EXECUTIVE FUNCTION - FOR DECISION] pdf icon PDF 211 KB

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    This report summarises progress with the Local Committee’s programme of Highways works for the current Financial Year 2015-16.

    Preparations are well advanced to deliver the Local Committee’s programme of Highways works for the Financial Year 2016-17.

    Additional documents:

    Decision:

    That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed:

     

    (i)     To approve the advertisement of the Legal Notice for a new Zebra Crossing in Church Street, Epsom, near Pitt Place, and for any objections to be considered by the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Divisional Member;

    (ii)    That the proposal for a permanent one-way system incorporating Hook Road, Chase Road, Temple Road and Pound Lane is not progressed further at the present time and that changes to the layout of parking bays in Temple Road be considered as part of the next parking review.

    (iii)  To approve the advertisement of the Legal Notice for a new Zebra Crossing in Woodcote Green Road, near the bus stops behind Epsom Hospital, and for any objections to be considered by the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Divisional Member;

    (iv)  That the proposals for the Epsom Banstead Sustainable Transport Package (SPT) should be the subject of public consultation during May and June 2016, and to agree that the project consultation material should be decided by the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Epsom Banstead STP Member Task Group;

    (v)   The realignment of the tactile paving on the southern side of the Grosvenor Road bellmouth to match the dropped kerb on the northern side, thus providing a finished but lesser scheme at this location;

    (vi)  To authorise the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes.

    Reasons:

     

    Programmes of work have been agreed with the Committee and individual Divisional Members.  Committee is asked to provide the necessary authorisation to deliver those programmes of work in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member without the need to revert to the Committee as a whole.

     

    Public consultation is needed to assist the development of the Epsom Banstead STP scheme proposals.  At a later date it is expected that Committee will be asked to approve statutory consultation (legal notices for certain elements of the scheme) once the detailed design is nearing completion.

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None.

     

    Officers attending:  Nick Healey, Area Highways Team Manager

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  Two members of the public asked questions in relation to this item.  One queried whether the computer modelling took into account the school at Pound Lane.  Mr Tuffo who had previously submitted two petitions to the Committee, one in relation to opposition to the proposed one-way system in Temple Road/Hook Road and one asking for traffic calming in Temple Road asked whether a 20mph speed limit could be considered in the area, particularly in Pound Lane.  He also asked for changes to the parking bays in Temple Road: shortening some of the bays so that vehicles cannot park as close to the dropped kerbs for driveways, to give better visibility to drivers exiting; and for bays to be moved to create a chicane effect to slow traffic.  The Parking Engineer had been consulted and had agreed that some of the bays could be shortened in the next few months, but that redesign of the position of the bays would need to be considered in the next parking review.  Whilst pleased that the bays could be shortened, Mr Tufo reported that this would still allow two vehicles to park which he felt would still be dangerous.  It was agreed that he would discuss this further with Cllr Wormington, Mr Persand and the Parking Engineer.

     

    Member Discussion – key points

     

    Noted that the Stoneleigh Park Road to Bradford Drive cycle scheme has not yet been finalised and the plan at Annex F just shows the current progress.  It is designed to help cycles legally cross to Bradford Drive without dismounting instead of having to go to the roundabout and back.  The final scheme will come back to the Committee for approval.

     

    Mr Persand proposed that the Hook Road/Temple Road one-way system should be further investigated with a view to implementing a one-way system.  There was no seconder to his proposal.

     

    Cllr Frost asked whether the Millennium Green Trustees had been consulted on whether they would agree to moving the bin, bench and sign to an area nearer to the proposed zebra crossing. 

     

    Members queried whether the proposed cycle link in Scotts Farm Road could be affected by any development taking place nearby, as infrastructure improvements would be required in the area.  The Highways Area Manager reported that the scheme is currently awaiting agreement to the transfer of land from Epsom & Ewell High School.

     

    Mrs Mason reported that Brumfield Road would be replaced by work of a similar value in Green Lanes (odd side).

     

    The adverts for the current parking review had not yet been published.  The Parking Engineer would be asked for a publication date which would be circulated to members of the Committee.

     

    Resolved:

     

    (i)     To approve the advertisement of the Legal Notice for a new Zebra Crossing in Church Street, Epsom, near Pitt Place, and for any objections to be considered by the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Divisional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10/16

11/16

MEMBERSHIP OF EPSOM & EWELL CYCLING PLAN TASK GROUP [EXECUTIVE FUNCTION - FOR DECISION]

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    As part of the Surrey Transport Plan, the Surrey Cycling Strategy was approved by Cabinet in December 2013 with the following vision.

     

     “.....  a true Olympic legacy would see every child in Surrey learning to ride a bike and being able to cycle safely to school. It would mean that many more of our residents cycle for transport and leisure, reducing congestion and reliance on cars and reaping the considerable health and economic benefits this brings. And it would mean that people without access to a car can travel safely and affordably around the county.”

     

    The Local Committee has been asked to oversee the development of a local cycling plan to reflect local priorities and issues. 

     

    The Committee is asked to appoint two members: Cllrs Michael Arthur and Tella Wormington, to form a Task Group to oversee the development of a local cycling plan prior to its final agreement by the Local Committee.

    Decision:

    That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed to appoint Cllrs Michael Arthur and Tella Wormington to form a Task Group to oversee the development of a local cycling plan prior to its final agreement by the Local Committee.

     

    Reasons:  To assist officers with the preparation of a local cycling plan.

     

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None.

     

    Officers attending:  Nicola Morris, Community Partnership & Committee Officer

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  None

     

    Member Discussion – None

     

    Resolved: That Cllrs Michael Arthur and Tella Wormington be appointed to form a Task Group to oversee the development of a local cycling plan prior to its final agreement by the Local Committee.

     

    Reasons:  To assist officers with the preparation of a local cycling plan.

     

12/16

LOCAL COMMITTEE DECISION/ACTION TRACKER [FOR INFORMATION] pdf icon PDF 111 KB

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    This item provides an update on previous decisions and actions agreed by the Committee beginning in June 2015.

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None.

     

    Officers attending:  Nicola Morris, Community Partnership & Committee Officer

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  None

     

    Member Discussion – None

     

    Noted, the progress with the recorded decisions/actions.  The Chairman agreed to write to the youth service requesting an update on the action from the 21 September meeting.

13/16

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    Monday 20 June at 7.00pm, Ewell Court House tbc